Morning Links: Burch Smith Edition

In today's Padres-related news, Burch Smith is here and people are excited. That and other links from around the Web:

Smith, slated to make his major-league debut Saturday against Tampa Bay, has moved faster through the Padres system than any other lower-round draft pick since Jake Peavy.

Before the season, Smith was rated the Padres' No. 20 prospect by MLB.com. Obviously, that ranking will need updating, but here's a snippet from his scouting report: "Smith cranks his fastball up to 97 mph at times and his heater has late cutting movement. His secondary stuff is behind the plus fastball, but he'll show glimpses of a good curve."

"One of the many things that stands out about Burch is he is a power pitcher with control," Randy Smith, the Padres' VP of player development and international scouting, told Corey Brock. "His stuff produces high strikeouts with low walks and hits."

On a non-Burch-Smith-related note, Kevin Acee found that Nick Hundley wasn't shy about discussing Yasmani Grandal, who could return to the Padres from his suspension as early as May 28. This should be interesting.